Rear speaker stands!

[admin_exported]

I am currently looking at speaker stands for my rear speakers and have no idea which way to turn! The speakers are Monitor Audio RS1s. I need to mount them 900-1000mm high. My budget is £120ish max. However due to being in a wheelchair id like something pretty solid, that will not fall with a slight tap (don't drink and drive!)

So far I have got two possibilities-

Apollo A4 (900mm) which seem good, if not completely heavy weight. If mount the RS1s on these then there will be a 60mm overhang depth-wise.

Atacama SL1000 (1000mm) which seems perfect, rock solid (comparitively) and huge base plate 300mm x 300mm. If i mount the RS1s on this then the top plate will be about 40mm wider than the speaker. Would this look stupid?

I am not sure which is better or if there are any suitable alternatives, please help!

 

[Oldboy]

As it's the rear speakers you want to mount have you considered wall brackets? I may be wrong but i'm sure Monitor Audio sell a specific bracket for the RS1's for rear mounting. I've had stands all round before when i had my KEF setup but was never happy with it but now i've got Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 i now have the front 2 speakers on Soundstyle Z2i stands and the rears mounted on the wall with Q Acoustics brackets and the surround is much better with the speakers mounted higher on the wall as i had my rears on stands before getting brackets plus its a much better solution with your wheelchair, can't knock them over then for sure. Just a thought.

 

[Anonymous]

I've considered brackets but I preferably wanted to have the ability to move them around the room (I love tinkering with set ups.) Also i have found the RS1s dont sound as good when backed near a wall (using them for multi channel music too).

How do the Soundstyle Z2i fair? Thanks Oldboy

 

[Oldboy]

I'm with you as regards tinkering but i don't have a very large living room so im a bit hampered but at least its square, the Soundstyle Z2i fair very well and to be honest it seems a bargain for the extra attack, bass and timing they offer. I really was taken with them and its hard to beleive that you can buy such an effective upgrade for as little as £70, got to hand it to What Hi-Fi yet again they really do deserve the award. Can't help thinking that your R1's deserve better though as we are at the budget end here so how about the Atacama Aurora 6 stands? Think they are around your price point and are fabulous stands to boot!

 

[Anonymous]

I was looking at the Atacama Aurora 6 stands yesterday. They look fabulous. The problem for me was that they were too low (65cm) from ground to top plate. Sitting down, my ear height is almost 1m so the speakers would be below me. The other thing was they have little rubber feet to prop up your speakers on the top plate. I have Tannoy Revolution Signature DC4s which have a curved back so they didn't sit quite properly when I fitted one on it. Not sure if you can take the rubber pads off. They would be fine if your speakers are a square shape. They do look brilliant though.

 

[Oldboy]

Blimey they are tiny then the Atacama Aurora 6! Perhaps not the best solution in this case then but it does shock me they are so small as my Soundstyles are higher than them by some way...just been thinking of an alternative JTD how about Partington Super Dreadnought? Now there is a heavy stand...not seen what the mounting options are on those though but they are really good stands but may have to pay a little extra maybe £30 or so?

 

[d4v3pum4]

I use Atacama Nexus 10's for my rears and they're perfect for me. I used to use Nexus 6 years ago when I first got my proper AV setup but they were too low so I punted them on and bought the 10's. Highly recommended and very sturdy. If it's any help, I put a pair of Tannoy Revolutions 4's on them and the exposed metal baseplate caused by the speaker's curved design looked stupid and did my head in. Had I actually liked the speakers, I would have got a baseplate made up but as it was, I hated the speakers and returned them.

 

[Anonymous]

See I had instantly discredited the Aurora 6s because they didn't look that solid, but I'll admit that I've never seen or felt them in person. I assumed that a metal, 4 pole design would be the best option for stability? I could look at the Aurora 6, only problwem is they only do the one height (625mm) which probably wont clear the backs of my recliners....

 

[Anonymous]

d4v3pum4:I use Atacama Nexus 10's for my rears and they're perfect for me. I used to use Nexus 6 years ago when I first got my proper AV setup but they were too low so I punted them on and bought the 10's. Highly recommended and very sturdy. If it's any help, I put a pair of Tannoy Revolutions 4's on them and the exposed metal baseplate caused by the speaker's curved design looked stupid and did my head in. Had I actually liked the speakers, I would have got a baseplate made up but as it was, I hated the speakers and returned them.

Should speakers ideally fit perfectly or should they overhang the top plate? (or even completely fit on the plate?)

 

[Oldboy]

Patington Super Dreadnoughts are only 60cm tall aswell and i'm wrong about the Soundstyle z2i as ive just measured mine and they come in at 57cm! Back to your original choices then, this is rather difficult to solve due to the height you require. As for how speakers should sit on the stands they should line up in the centre, my 1010i's when mounted on Soundstyle Z2i meet up perfectly in the centre with an over-hang at the front and back of about 1cm but obviously that differs depending on the size of speaker and stand used.

 

[Anonymous]

I picked up and moved about a pair of the Atacama Aurora 6s. They are certainly sturdy enough and well put together. They were empty when I lifted them so when you fill them with something funky looking, they will be even more sturdy (and eye catching!)

They top of my speaker would just about peep over the height of the arm of my sofa sitting on them.

 

[Anonymous]

I also had a play with the Apollo AZ series stands. I think they do a 1m version. They look a bit ugly to me, but on the plus side they have a pretty small footprint (which would be good for me in a small room) and I believe they are also pre-filled, so there is no expense or mess filling them yourself, and they were rock solid.

 

[d4v3pum4]

JTD:Should speakers ideally fit perfectly or should they overhang the top plate? (or even completely fit on the plate?)

If you look at the design of purpose built stands for the likes of the B&W CM1 & CM5, they don't (they're different sized speakers using the same purpose built stand) so I don't think a bit of overhang matters. I use good ol' fashioned blutac to secure my rear speakers (Focal 806V) which are considerably larger than the baseplate they sit on.

 

[Anonymous]

Acciesboy:
I also had a play with the Apollo AZ series stands. I think they do a 1m version. They look a bit ugly to me, but on the plus side they have a pretty small footprint (which would be good for me in a small room) and I believe they are also pre-filled, so there is no expense or mess filling them yourself, and they were rock solid.

I did look at these as they look solid. The thing with them is that on the 1m model the top plate is only 150 x 125mm (RS1s being 240 x 185 mm)

 

[Anonymous]

They certainly felt solid too, but yeah, they do have a small top plate. My Tannoys are surprisingly small speakers and they did fit quite neatly with little or no overhang.

 

[d4v3pum4]

Acciesboy,

What are you driving the Tannoys with? I used to own Mercury m3, Mercury mxc and mx1 and they were great but when I upgraded to the Tannoy Revolution Signatures, to say I was disappointed was an understatement.

 

[Anonymous]

On the subject of top plate sizes, I wonder if anyone could help me.

ÿ
Iÿrecently purchased a pair of Tangent Evo speakers. I really like them.

However, I read that bookshelf speakers shouldn't actually be placed on a bookshelf, so I'm looking to buy some stands.

I liked the look of the Soundstyle z2 stands. However, the top plate is much to large for my speakers. It would look awful.

My speakers are 125mm in width and 165mm in length. Can anyone recommended any stands with a suitably sized top plate? The only ones I can find are ones made by Apollo.

Many thanks!

Gavÿÿ

 

[Anonymous]

The Atacama Aurora 6 has a similar sized top plate to the Apollos. I don't know the exact dimensions, but it looked pretty similar the other day when I saw them side by side.

 

[Anonymous]

I think theÿAtacama Aurora 6 are beautiful stands, but the top plate is 180mm x 145mm (or so I read).ÿ

ÿ

So a little big for my Tangent Evo speakers. Pity, I'd like a few options.

ÿ

Do you find the Apollo stands nice and heavy (without filling them)?

 

[Anonymous]

It was the Apollo AZ series I saw. I believe they are already pre-filled with sand, and yes it was already very heavy. They certainly gave the impression of being very sturdy